Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Teeth...the good and the bad

Daddy and Jake

Edgar boys

Good News!! Anderson's abscess is finally looking better, almost to the point where you can hardly see traces of it! His gums look about 98% healthy but it has only been the past 48 hours. I took matters into my own desperate hands and started to rub a q-tip that was dipped in medicated mouthwash on it and it seems to have worked. It could be a total fluke, either way who cares! This is the most optimistic we have felt about it.

I'm not sure if I've said this before but the past month that Anderson has been on antibiodics we have had to wake him around 1 a.m. EVERY NIGHT to give him a dose. We don't stay up till 1 a.m., so this means setting an alarm, dragging out of bed, prepping the meds, and waking him up. I'm not a good sleeper. Once I'm up I have a very hard time going back to sleep. Kevin has been absolutely wonderful about doing it just about every night. I can count on one hand how many times I've had to do it and I am so grateful that he has excused me of that duty. What a guy and what a dad!

Today there was a bit of an incident. It has been been a week since Anderson has tried to bite anyone and before that I can't even remember the last time he bit. I thought we were phasing out of the biting but I was wrong. Today he and Jake were pushing cars around, a disagreement ensued, I thought I had solved the problem and proceeded to finish cleaning up breakfast. Seconds later I heard the familiar scream of Jake and I immediately felt my stomach drop to my feet. Anderson had bit Jake on the cheek and it was bad! I snatched Jake up and took him into another room, he was completely inconsolable and rightfully so. His cheek was red, swollen, and hot to the touch. When I put him to bed this evening it was still hot to the touch.

Anderson tried biting him again an hour or so later and he attempted to bite my Dad. I feel like I'm failing them both. Jake is such a sweetheart, I don't think the poor guy ever sees it coming and it's just not his nature to fight back. I feel like I didn't protect him. With Anderson I feel like I'm failing to give him the tools he needs to deal with his frustration and anger. It all happens so quickly, he goes from happy and jovial to frustrated and angry in seconds. I'm trying to balance showing him my disapointment and disapproval with trying not to starve him of affection. He is a very affectionate person, when it happens he knows he did wrong and wants me to hold him and reassure him. That is exactly what I want to do but I also don't want to undermind the seriousness of his biting. I'm trying to find that middle ground but I seem to have lost the map.